Jim Sez

Jim Sez for Thursday, October 29 …

IT’S DOLPHINS VS. PATS TO JUMP-START NFL WEEK 8PLUS MORE NEWS/NOTES ON THE LEAGUE’S “UNBEATEN FIVE” SQUADS …THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL REPORT:WE LOOK AT THE BIGGEST MONEY-BURNINGTEAMS PLUS MORE QUICK-HITTER TOP 25 PREVIEWS

Okay, so we’ve all been hearing plenty about these five NFL teams that enter Week 8 play without a single SU (straight-up) loss but how about what Carolina, Cincinnati, Denver, Green Bay and New England have accomplished thus far against the almighty pointspreads?

Va-va-va voom!Check ‘em out … here’s the pointspread standings of the five unbeaten teams:

TEAM

WON

LOSS

TIE

PCT

Cincinnati

5

0

1

1.000

Carolina

5

1

0

.833

Green Bay

5

1

1

.833

New England

4

1

1

.800

Denver

3

1

2

.750

Add ‘em all up and the five unbeaten NFL squads are a composite 22-4-5 ATS (against the spread) for a resounding .846 winning percentage.

No doubt everyone out there in media-land keeps asking how much deeper into this here-and-now 2015 NFL season can these teams go without suffering a SU loss but we have a different slant to things:

much longer can the Bengals, Panthers, Packers, Patriots and Broncos go while piling up such prolific profits?Hey, we’ve seen the occasional year when an NFL team or two marches out to a splendid 9-0 or 10-0 SU start but a whopping pointspread winning percentage doesn’t always go hand-in-hand.

Just consider that $100 per-play wagers on these five NFL teams right now would have netted you a king-sized profit of $1,760 … cha-ching indeed!

Now, let’s get the NFL Week 8 card started with tonight’s big AFC East game …

MIAMI (3-3) at NEW ENGLAND (6-0) – 8:25 p.m. ET, CBS/NFL NetworkThe last time the high-and-mighty New England Patriots didn’t make the playoffs just so happens to be the last time they lost a home game to the Miami Dolphins – the Fish copped a 38-13 stunner win as 12.5-point underdogs way back in 2008 and now the “Dan Campbell Era” has Miami folks believing it can KO the perfect Pats on this night. Hmmm.

Hey, Miami has outscored its opponents 82-35 under the fiery Campbell with one-sided wins so far against Tennessee and Houston but this does indeed mark a major step up in competition (duh!) – still Miami QB Ryan Tannehill completed his first 18 consecutive passes last Sunday versus the Texans and so he’s a confident dude while RB Lamar Miller (see 175 first-half rushing yards a week ago) is primed to make it happen here against a New England team that strangely itself only rushed the ball five times in that 30-23 home win against the pesky New York Jets in Week 7 play.

The Fish defense has registered 10 sacks in the two games under Campbell – note that they registered just one sack in four games under low-energy head coach Joe Philbin before he was canned back on Oct. 5th – and a major key here is how will the likes of Cameron Wake (team-leading six sacks) fare against an inexperienced Patriots’ offensive line that starts four players with three games-or-fewer starts in all?

If New England QB Tom Brady doesn’t get some help from his pass-catchers (see 11 official drops in last week’s win against the J-E-T-S) then Campbell’s golden touch could be felt in Foxborough where the Pats currently are listed as 8-point favorites.

Spread Notes – New England is an electric 15-6-1 ATS as hosts since the start of the 2013 season and that includes a pair of wins/covers against Miami. Note that the Dolphins are a crummy 4-10 vig-wise in divisional games the past two-plus seasons.

And now hear this …My handicappers and bloggers have everything all scoped out and you can get the World Series game-by-game winners plus all the NFL Week 8 Side & Totals winners beginning with tonight’s game between the Miami Dolphins at the New England Patriots when you check with us here at Jim Hurley’s Network.

We’re also planning on a monster winning week/weekend with NCAA Football too – so make sure you pile up the profits as we get ready to head straight into another winning sports month!

There’s great games ahead on the college docket including tonight’s games between North Carolina at #23 Pittsburgh and West Virginia at #5 TCU, plus Friday offers up Louisville at Wake Forest and then Saturday’s busy menu features Georgia vs. #11 Florida, #8 Stanford at Washington State and, of course, #9 Notre Dame at #21 Temple (7-0) in prime-time on ABC.So be sure and check with us on game days either here online or at our toll-free telephone # of 1-800-323-4453. Don’t miss out!

THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL REPORTWho’s been torching those greenbacks so far in the first half of this 2015 NCAA Football season?Here’s the short list of real money-burners …

AUBURN – War Eagle is wounded badly as the SEC squad is 1-6 versus the vig this year and the defense has been brutal (we won’t get on their case for allowing 54 points in a four-OT loss to Arkansas last weekend). What’s up, coach Gus Malzahn?

FLORIDA ATLANTIC – Nobody’s gonna be able to retire to Boca Raton (the home city of the FAU Owls) the way this Conference USA team performs spreadwise as Charlie Partridge’s team is 1-5-1 ATS and averaging just 18.6 ppg since week one action.

FRESNO STATE – Remember when Bulldogs football used to matter? Now, this Mountain West Conference club is a dreary 1-6-1 against the odds and note the Dawgs have allowed 42-or-more points in five different games.

GEORGIA – These SEC Dawgs have failed to cover five of their first six games this season and the truly disturbing part of things is Mark Richt’s team already is without top RB Nick Chubb. Check out our Georgia vs. Florida showdown below.

KANSAS – Not much goin’ right for the 2015 Jayhawks and that includes the team’s ugly 1-5-1 ATS mark … and did you know Kansas has not covered this year as dogs of 45 and 33 points?

OLD DOMINION – Say it ain’t so, Monarchs! This Conference USA crew is the country’s only winless spread side at 0-7 against the Las Vegas price tags and note ODU’s been held to 14 points or less in four of the team’s last five games.

OREGON STATE – Let’s just say this “marriage” between first-year head coach Gary Anderson and the O-State Beavers simply hasn’t worked so far with this Pac-12 team sitting there at 1-6 ATS heading into Saturday’s game at Utah. Hey, we could’ve told you to stay put at Utah State a few years back, buddy!

UTEP – At 1-5-1 ATS, these Miners have buried their backers under a major debris field and how about the fact this C-USA squad is allowing 39.3 points per game thus far?

Now, here’s a couple more Top 25 previews for Saturday:

GEORGIA (5-2, 3-2 SEC) vs. #11 FLORIDA (6-1, 4-1 SEC) – (at Jacksonville) 3:30 p.m. ET, CBSConsider that when this 2015 season started, Georgia was ranked #9 in the nation – now the Bulldogs are on the outside looking in at the Top 25;

Conversely, Florida was not a part of the top 25 scene yet here we are slightly more than halfway through this season and the Gators are cranking out talk that a run-the-table approach will get ‘em into this year’s four-team College Football Playoffs … go figure!

Hard to believe the Gators have beaten the likes of Kentucky, Tennessee and Ole Miss with such a shoddy ground game – Florida ranks 105th in the land while averaging just 126.7 ground yards a game -- but first-year masterful coach Jim McElwain has a load of defensive stoppers including CB Vernon Hargreaves III and could see ‘em getting a pick or two against erratic Georgia QB Grayson Lambert (1,276 yards passing with 9 TDs and 2 INTs).

Head-to-Head Spread Note – Florida has covered five of the last seven showdowns against the Georgia Dawgs including last year’s 38-20 stunner as 11.5-point underdogs.

#9 NOTRE DAME (6-1) at #21 TEMPLE (7-0) – 8 p.m. ET, ABCWho knew weeks ago that the biggest game on this Halloween Night would be in Philadelphia … not exactly the epicenter of the college football world!

Notre Dame – a whopping 10-point road betting favorite here – rolls into this prime-time game having covered five games in a row this year and the pass-catch combo of backup-turned-starter DeShone Kizer (10 TD passes and 3 TD rushing)-to-WR Will Fuller (averaging 100.3 yards receiving per game) must be slowed if Temple wants to entertain any real upset hopes. Watch for Owls slinger P.J. Walker (1,314 yards passing with 9 TDs and 3 INTs) to keep the heat on Notre Dame’s pass defense that had some issue two weeks ago in that 41-31 win/cover against USC.

Head-to-Head Spread Note – Notre Dame’s only recent showdown with Temple produced a 28-6 loss-but-cover as the four-TD favorite Irish couldn’t cash back in 2013.

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